A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 18-1), is
effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 29, 2018. Please be advised that, depending
on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 18-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this
funding opportunity.

SYNOPSIS

The Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is designed to fulfill the mandate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote scientific progress nationwide. A jurisdiction is eligible to participate in the NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Grant Program (RII) if their most recent 3-year level of NSF research support is equal to or less than 0.75% of the total NSF Research and Related Activities (R&RA) budget. (see RII eligibility). Through this program, NSF establishes partnerships with government, higher education, and industry that are designed to effect sustainable improvements in a jurisdiction's research infrastructure, Research and Development (R&D) capacity, and hence, its R&D competitiveness.

Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-1 (RII Track-1) awards provide up to $20 million total for 5 years to support improvements to physical and cyber infrastructure and human capital development in research areas selected by the jurisdiction's EPSCoR steering committee as having the best potential to improve future R&D competitiveness of the jurisdiction. The research activities of the project must align with the specific research priorities identified in the approved Science and Technology (S&T) Plan of the jurisdiction. Refer to sections II and IV.A of this solicitation for more information on alignment of the research activities of the project with the STEM research priorities of the S&T Plan.